The Cobblestone Sherlock
by ElderTrash
Summary: A teen!Lock, genderbent, boarding school AU. When a student at "The Cobblestone Academy for Young Women" starts receiving death threats, dysfunctional roommates Jess Watson and Sherlock (yes it's a girls name!) Holmes will rise to the challenge and stop a dangerous killer.
1. Chapter 1: Welcome to 221B

CHAPTER 1

Welcome to 221B

"Auntie says that she knows you'll be very happy here and that you'll make loads of new mates!" Jess listened to her aunt's personal assistant chatter on about how much fun she'll have at her new school.

Honestly, Jess thought. if "Auntie" loved and cared about me so much she wouldn't be shipping me off to school.

"Jess honey, are you listening?"

Jess stopped looking out the window and directed her attention to the woman beside her. "Oh yes I'm hanging onto every word like my life depends on it Milana." Jess's aggressive comment didn't fly over well with Milana and she scolded the girl "Now listen here Ms. Watson, your auntie paid an awful lot for you to attend Cobblestone Academy and you'd better appreciate it."

As the car pulled up to school's front gates Jess grabbed her bag and got out of the car. "Have a great ti-" Jess closed the car door before Milana could finish.

Dragging her suitcase behind her, Jess entered the school. A flushed and visibly overworked woman raced to Jess's side. "Jess Watson?" She asked breathlessly.

"Yes?"

"Oh good it's you!" The woman ushered Jess into an office and handed her a manila envelope bursting with papers. "In that folder is your class schedule, the dining hall nutrition facts, a school map, the disaster and evacuation plans, and here," The woman handed Jess velvet pouch "is your room key."

Jess took the key. "Thank you."

"No problem dear, your room is in building 22 on level 1 and its door B. But for short you can call it 221B."

Jess had no trouble finding her room and she unlocked the door.

Seated with her back to the door, was another girl who appeared to be analyzing something under a microscope.

"Hi I'm Jess Watson your new flatmate... is that blood on the floor?"

The girl looked up from her work for a moment and glanced at the carpet

"Yes it is." She turned around and continued her work. Jess took a step back from the stain. "Is it human blood?"

The girl looked impossibly irritated as she got up and walked towards the stain. "Yes it's human blood, any other brilliant questions?"

Jess answered quickly. "Just one more."

The girl looked at her expectantly and Jess spoke. "Is it your blood?"

The girl laughed, obviously very amused by Jess's question.

"No its not mine!"

"Well who's is it then?"

"It belongs to Mexican drug lord Juan Hernendez."

Jess was speechless. "Oh."


	2. Chapter 2: Introductions and Deductions

CHAPTER 2

Introductions and Deductions

"My name is Sherlock Holmes and yes, before you ask, it is in fact, a girl's name."

Sherlock looked her new flatmate up and down.

They couldn't be more different by way of appearance.

Jess was average height, bordering on short, with shoulder length, wavy, dirty blonde hair. Her brown eyes were bright. She carried herself upright and had light skin.

Sherlock on the other hand, had icy blue eyes and curly black hair that went just past her shoulders. She was tall, with long legs and pale skin and even without gloss her lips were a shade of bright pink.

Jess extended a hand to Sherlock but it remained unshaken. "Aren't you going to shake?"

Sherlock glanced at the hand and replied "I don't shake hands but the fact that you do says quite a bit about you."

Jess was curious. "What does it say?"

Sherlock's eyes scanned Jess and her suitcase as she spoke. "Well I know you're and orphan and not an only child, also you were raised on a military base and whatever happened to your parents happened quite recently I'd say in the last six months. Whoever is caring for you now is not caring for your brother as well, yes brother, and one final thing, you'd like the bed on the left in which case I'd have to say, sorry but i was here first and that one's mine."

Jess was shocked. "H-how did you know all that?" She asked in disbelief.

Sherlock looked pleased with herself and her eyes glowed. "The way you carry yourself is distinctly military, but since you're fourteen, you must've lived on a base. When you first entered the room you looked around slowly a key indicator that you don't, in fact want to be here. The picture of your parents delicately placed in the front pouch of your suitcase shows that the photograph has sentimental value to you, sentiment, never understood it, but anyways, a fourteen year old typically wants freedom from her parents so I can deduce that they mean quite a lot to you." Jess took the picture from her bag and looked at it. "But how did you know they're dead?"

Sherlock clasped her hands together and began to pace back and forth as she spoke. "I know they're dead because I saw you slam the door on whoever dropped you off here and if you had as profound a bond with your parents as the picture suggests, then they would've brought you here, not someone who you are irritated by."

"Wow, that's- that's incredible." Jess was in complete awe.

"Jess please, I know I'm brilliant and I don't need someone I hardly know to tell me that." Sherlock sat back down at the desk and resumed her work with the microscope.

Jess heaved her suitcase onto the bed on the right and placed the photo of her parents on her nightstand. While she was unpacking she noticed that Sherlock proceeded to talk to herself.

"Brilliant." Sherlock whispered.

Jess walked over to the desk, being careful to step over the blood on the carpet.

"What's brilliant?" Without pausing from her work Sherlock answered.

"I am."


	3. Chapter 3: Sisterly Love

CHAPTER 3

Sisterly Love

Jess was sitting on her bed in her pajamas looking over the papers in her file when someone knocked on the door.

Sherlock walked out of the bathroom and looked through the peep hole "For God's sake go away!" She called at whoever was on the other side of the door, then she stomped back into the bathroom and slammed the door, causing a clock to crash down from the wall.

Jess went to pick up the clock when she heard knocking again. Through the peep hole she saw a girl with straight, shoulder length chestnut brown hair. Her skin was lightly tanned and she looked to be around age 16. Her general appearance was clean and manicured and not a single hair was out of place.

Jess opened the door and the girl walked in.

Sherlock stormed out of the bathroom and sat in the corner with her knees pulled up to her chest.

"Hello there, my name is Jess and you are?"

The girl spoke to Jess while keeping her attention fixed on Sherlock. "My name is Megan Holmes, pleasure to make your acquaintance.

Jess suddenly realized who this girl was before her. "You wouldn't happen to be related to that grump in the corner over there would you?"

Megan turned to Jess. "Yes, unfortunately."

Sherlock stood, whipped her blue robe around her then sat again, facing the wall this time. Megan laughed.

"You'll have to excuse my baby sister, we aren't on the best of terms at the moment."

Without turning around Sherlock shot back at her sister. "Well telling the school councilor that I'm a danger to other students' sanity will do that."

Megan, Jess, and Sherlock sat around the little tea table in 221B, and while Jess and Megan made casual conversation, Sherlock fiddled with her robe. "So Jess, has my sister been keeping you busy?"

"Well, I've only known her for a few hours but the way she figures things out about people is fantastic."

Sherlock smiled slightly but didn't look up from her robe.

Megan smiled "Ah, so she demonstrated her little magic act for you didn't she?"

Sherlock stood up suddenly, knocking her chair back. "It's not a magic trick Megan and you know that."

Sherlock stormed out of the flat with her robe flowing behind her. Megan stood. "Well thank you for the tea and please excuse my sister's behavior."

Jess walked Megan to the door but just before she left, Megan turned around.

"Also dear, I regret to inform you that your Aunt's dog has cancer and won't be around much longer." And with that, Megan grabbed an umbrella that was leaned against the door, and left.

Jess closed the door and collected the teacups and saucers.

How on earth did she know about my Aunt's dog? Whatever they call that ability, it must run in the family.

Hours later, Sherlock returned and went to bed without saying a word to Jess.


	4. Chapter 4: Death, Bread, and Lockpicks

CHAPTER 4

Death, Bread, and Lock Picks

The next morning, Jess grabbed her school schedule to see what class she'd be off to after she had gotten herself ready.

Certain classes were highlighted and some were scribbled out to the point of being unreadable. "Hey, Sherlock, did you write all over my school schedule?"

Sherlock shook her hair out and let her black curls fall wherever they pleased, then she turned and took the paper from Jess. "Yes I did."

"Why would you do that Sherlock, I can't even read some of these!"

Sherlock laid the paper down and spoke very slowly. "Highlighted classes are ones we have together although there aren't very many because of your ordinary little mind, classes that are scratched out, you don't even have to bother attending because what's the use of filling your mind with the useless things taught in those classrooms."

Jess tried to make out the names of the scribbled out classes. "Sherlock you crossed out health class and history class. Those are pretty important."

Sherlock stood in front of the mirror, wrapping a blue scarf around her neck and, without stopping, she replied. "Honestly Jess, as someone who's been around for fourteen years you should have a working knowledge of your body and its daily functions, and why study history in a room full of morons when you can skip the class and make history all on your own?"

Jess didn't grace Sherlock's question with an answer, instead she headed off to her first class, literary studies, one of the few classes Sherlock hadn't crossed out.

Jess didn't really pay attention during literary studies. She couldn't stop thinking about what Sherlock had said.

"What's the use of filling your mind with the useless things taught in those classrooms?"

Knowing your country's history isn't useless, is it?

Sherlock waited outside Jess's classroom as the students began exiting. "Ah Jess! Wonderful news!" Jess leaned against the wall next to Sherlock. "What is it?"

Sherlock's eyes brightened and her voice rose with joy "A student called Mira Howard received a death threat in her locker!"

Jess dropped her books and grabbed Sherlock's shoulders. "What in your bloody mind sees THAT as good news!"

Sherlock swatted Jess's hands off of her and flipped her collar up. "It's good because you and I are going to find out who's sending them." Sherlock began to walk quickly down the corridor and Jess had to jog to keep up with her friend's walking pace. "Us? Sherlock, how and why are we finding the sender and not, oh I don't know, the POLICE?"

When they reached a row of lockers Sherlock stopped and pulled a small case out of her coat pocket. "What's that then?" Jess reached for the case and Sherlock shooed her away. "Its my lock picking kit."

"Sherlock, you aren't really breaking into Mira's locker are you?"

"Yes I am."

"Its a combination lock Sherlock, there's no key. Unless you've got a sonic screwdriver in there you're out of luck."

Sherlock rolled her eyes and audibly sighed at Jess's Doctor Who reference.

"Jess don't try to tell jokes, just stand there and tell me how brilliant I am when I get this thing open." Sherlock took a small lock pick out of the case and tried to see if she could use it in any way.

"Sherlock I was right, you're not getting into there."

"Shut-up Jess!"

Sherlock walked to the fire extinguisher on the opposite wall.

"Sherlock, that fire extinguisher is behind glass, and you know what happens when you break that glass don't you?"

Sherlock took a step back from the glass case and smiled. "Jess I know exactly what's going to occur and I'm counting on it to help us." And with that cryptic statement, she kicked the case in and grabbed the fire extinguisher, ignoring the shattered glass and wailing sirens.

"You're a bloody psychopath!" Jess screamed over the sirens and panicked students.

Sherlock smashed the lock with the extinguisher and called to Jess. "I'm not a psychopath, I'm a high functioning sociopath!"

When the hallway had cleared of students, Jess approached Sherlock, who was now photographing the contents of Mira's locker.

"I think high-functioning might be pushing it."

Sherlock ignored Jess's comment and continued to take pictures. Jess turned around and saw a black envelope poking out from beneath the lockers. "Sherlock."

"Not now."

"Sherlock."

"I'm busy Jess."

"Sherlock, here!"

Jess handed Sherlock the envelope.

Sherlock removed her glove and felt the paper. "Humph, cheap paper." She sniffed the envelope. "No poisons I can smell and it came from either Tesco or," Sherlock sniffed the envelope again. "Morrisons supermarkets."

"How do you know it came from one of those two?"

Sherlock handed Jess the envelope. "The paper is cheap, mass produced, and look at the edges, they're crumpled, someone writing a death threat would take good care of this envelope, but a supermarket giant with millions of staff members wouldn't give a damn about one little envelope. If it was a small market with less staff, the envelope would be in better condition because they'd want what little merchandise they carry to be of good quality."

Jess held the envelope and tried to see it how Sherlock saw it. "But how did you come up with Tesco and Morrisons?" She asked.

"The envelope has a lingering scent of fresh bread on it and the only supermarket chains that keep the card aisle near the bakery are Tesco and Morrisons. Smell that would you?"

Jess sniffed the envelope.

"Now tell me Jess, what kind of bread do you smell?"

Jess smelled the envelope one more time. "Cornbread?"

Sherlock snatched the envelope and jumped up with excitement. "Yes exactly! Cornbread! Tesco bakes its own cornbread but Morrisons does not!"


	5. Chapter 5: Investigating the Facts

CHAPTER 5

Investigating the Facts

Jess and Sherlock stood at the table in their living area, staring at the black envelope.

Jess reached for it. "This is ridiculous, Sherlock. I'm going to open it."

Sherlock smacked Jess's hand and she yanked it back. "Ouch, Sherlock stop hitting!"

Sherlock sat down and looked up at Jess. "It could be dangerous to open."

Jess sat as well. "Then how do you suggest we go about getting at the contents?"

Sherlock folded her gloved hands under her chin, closed her eyes and smiled. "Five, four, three, two... now."

Three sharp knocks sounded on the door and Jess answered it to find a steaming Megan aggressively clutching an umbrella. "Is my sister here?" she demanded.

"I um, you see she, we." Jess stuttered along until Sherlock's voice sounded from the living room. "In here!"

"YOU!" Megan stormed past Jess and stood over the still seated Sherlock.

"Brilliant deduction Megan, it is in fact, me."

Megan swatted a teacup off the table and it shattered against the wall. "A fire extinguisher goes missing, the fire alarms sound, the entire school is evacuated, a locker is smashed in and its contents ransacked, and in the midst of it all guess who doesn't show up in the emergency head count?"

Sherlock smiled "Benedict Cumberbatch?"

Megan grabbed Sherlock by the coat and yanked her up. "No, you and your little friend."

Jess interjected angrily. "That's absurd!" She exclaimed.

Sherlock adjusted her coat and replied as well. "Jess is right, that is absurd," Jess let out a sigh of relief but Sherlock wasn't done, "I don't have any friends."

Megan grabbed a couch cushion and yanked it up, revealing the fire extinguisher concealed underneath. "What do you two have to say for yourselves and your behavior?"

Sherlock walked over to Megan and sat her down in an armchair, then she gestured for Jess to hand her the envelope. "Megan, dearest Megan, Jess and I feel absolutely terrible about our behavior and so we prepared this," Sherlock handed Megan the envelope. "to express just how badly we feel."

Jess whispered in Sherlock's ear, "Sherlock are you sure this is a smart idea?" But Sherlock just waved her away and concentrated on Megan's hands as she opened the letter. "Read it aloud would you?" Megan glared at Sherlock and began to read the letter.

"Time is running out for you Mira. Can't you hear it? Tick-tock-tick-tock. I'm going to kill you. I'm going to kill you like a common aminal," Megan stopped reading. "Aminal? What is this Sherlock?"

Sherlock walked towards the window and looked out over the courtyard. "Just keep reading."

"-now I realize that some people believe that aminals don't feel pain but I'm telling you that they do. Do you know what that means? It means YOU WILL TOO." Jess grabbed the letter, "What sort of rubbish is this, it doesn't even make sense."

Sherlock stiffened and turned to Jess, "The word animal is spelled a-m-i-n-a-l and not a-n-i-m-a-l correct?"

Jess looked at the letter. "Yes, it's spelled wrong, twice in fact."

Sherlock grabbed the letter and shoved it into Megan's pocket. "Off you go Megan, find out everything you can about Maddison Grant and Abbey Livingsly." Megan grabbed her umbrella and pointed it at Sherlock. "Sherlock, I can cover for you this one time but pull something like this again and you're out of luck. Got it?"

Sherlock rolled her eyes and pushed Megan into the hall. "Yes, yes I've got it." She slammed the door before Megan could continue to reprimand her.

"Maddison Grant and Abbey Livingsly?" Jess asked as she sat down in the armchair across from Sherlock.

"Yes, those are the only people that I'm aware of who, at this wonderful age of 14, still say and spell the word 'animal' incorrectly."

"But what if it wasn't one of them, what if that was put in there to throw you off the scent?"

Sherlock leaned back in her chair. "I wouldn't worry Jess, as I am yet to meet a person who is more clever than myself."

Jess smiled. "Oh good, just so long as you don't get a big head." Sherlock laughed and Jess smiled at her.

45 minutes after the evacuation, the school had been thoroughly searched and students were instructed to go to their 3rd class of the day. Jess stood up and shook Sherlock's shoulder.

"Wake up Sherlock."

"I wasn't sleeping."

"Well you sat there silently with your eyes shut for thirty minutes."

"I was thinking."

"Right. Well I'm off to class, are you coming?"

"No."

"Alright then, see you in Science."

Sherlock sat up and opened her eyes. "Don't you have history as your third class?"

Jess opened the door and stopped. "Yes, I do."

"I thought we established that there is no practical purpose in that class."

Jess turned to Sherlock. "Be that as it may, I still intend on going, and besides, my books are still in the hall outside my first class from when you whisked me away on this mission."


	6. Chapter 6: Pulling One Over on Sherlock

CHAPTER 6

Pulling One Over on Sherlock

Jess entered room 221B exhausted and ready to take a long nap in front of the TV.

Upon seeing Jess enter, Sherlock jumped up excitedly. "Jess it's magnificent! I've had a break in the case and it changes everything!" She exclaimed, her light blue eyes glowing.

Jess flung her school bag onto her bed and kicked off her shoes. "Sherlock, I'm tired because, unlike you, I actually attended my lessons today." Jess pulled on a cozy tan jumper and sat on the couch.

"Oh come ON!" Sherlock grabbed the TV remote before Jess could get to it. "Don't you want to know what I found out?" Sherlock spoke as if she was coaxing a child.

Jess slouched back in defeat. "Fine Sherlock, I'll listen to what you found out, but only if you'll leave me alone to watch something on the telly afterwards." Jess mentally prepared herself for whatever gruesome discovery Sherlock had made.

Sherlock stood on her armchair and used many hand gestures as she spoke. "Megan told me that both Maddison and Abbey didn't enroll this year!" Sherlock looked at Jess expectantly.

"So you were wrong?"

Sherlock became animated again. "Yes, I was wrong!" She jumped up and landed back on her chair in a sitting position.

Jess was thoroughly confused at this point.

"If you were wrong that means Mira is still in danger. I don't understand why you're so happy." After Jess had finished speaking, a look of boredom and disappointment made a home on Sherlock's face. "Oh Jess, I weep for the size and fragility of your mind. This is wonderful because whoever wants to kill Mira is obviously too clever to be making such elementary spelling mistakes as they did in that letter."

"But how do you know that they're cleve-"

Sherlock interrupted Jess and continued explaining, while looking increasingly more and more bored. "They're clever because they threw that spelling error in there to distract me."

"Wait, if the error was a trick then that means that what I said before was right."

Sherlock turned her nose up at Jess and spoke pointedly. "I don't remember you saying any such thing."

Jess rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Sherlock. So why do you think the culprit was trying to distract you?"

Sherlock got off the chair and grabbed her coat and scarf from the cupboard. She slid into her coat with the ease of someone who's done it hundreds of times. Sherlock began to speak as she tied her scarf around her neck.

"The culprit was trying to set me on the wrong trail so that they had the freedom to do something they wouldn't be able to do if I was onto them."

Jess jumped up and ran to grab her shoes.

Sherlock was surprised by Jess's sudden burst of energy but she played along and they rushed out into the hall and raced towards the office of the student council vice president.

Sherlock and Jess burst into Megan's office. They had opened the door with such a force that it created a gust of wind and blew Megan's paperwork off of her desk. "Sherlock!" Megan looked furious. "14 years and you still haven't figured out the fine art of KNOCKING."

Sherlock walked over to her sister's desk, disregarding the papers that she had disrupted.

"Sherlock, I don't expect you pick anything up off the floor since I know that you don't care about anyone but yourself," Sherlock whipped her scarf off and draped it over a chair as Megan spoke. "but the least you could do is not stand on my paperwork."

Jess kicked Sherlock's foot and retrieved the papers. "Here, Megan."

Megan didn't thank Jess or even acknowledge her kind act, she just continued to glare at her sister.

Eventually Megan gave up on trying to make Sherlock feel guilty for what she had done and turned her attention to Jess. "Why is it that you two decided to pay me this eventful visit?"

Suddenly Sherlock and Jess snapped into focus and remembered why they were in Megan's office.

Sherlock was first to speak. "I have reason to believe that someone is going to make an attempt on Mira Howard's life."

Megan stood up quickly and grabbed her umbrella. Sherlock grabbed her scarf and ran out the door without even bothering to put it on. Jess and Megan looked at each other, then ran after Sherlock.

The trio of panicked girls ran through the hallway until they reached the elevators.

Sherlock pressed the button repeatedly until Jess pushed her hand away.

"Sherlock we're all in a hurry, but wearing out that poor button isn't going to get us to Mira any faster."

Sherlock stopped pressing the button.

All at once everyone realized that they had no idea where they were going.

Megan spoke up. "Where is Mira now? You do know, don't you?"

Sherlock raised her fingers to her temples and closed her eyes. You could tell by her face that she was thinking extremely hard. Suddenly Jess remembered something she had heard earlier. "Mira is in the school news studio!"

Sherlock opened her eyes and dropped her hands to her sides. "How do you know?" She asked.

Jess replied: "She mentioned it in history class remember? Oh wait, you don't because you didn't think it necessary to show up." When Jess finished speaking Megan smiled.

"What are you smiling about?" Sherlock snapped.

Megan, still smiling, replied: "Just glad to see someone putting you in your place."

A moment after Megan had finished speaking, the elevators doors slid open.

Sherlock rushed in, making sure that her coat whipped past Megan's face. As Jess and Megan were about to enter the elevator Sherlock clicked the 'Close Door' button. "Sherlock what are you doing?" Jess cried.

As the doors slid shut Sherlock replied: "Take the next lift, this one is mine."

Megan grabbed Jess's wrist and pulled her towards the stairs. "There's no time, let's go!"

Jess and Megan met an excited Sherlock downstairs and together they ran across the courtyard to the news studio.

When they reached the enormous metal double doors, they heard an earsplitting scream followed by a crash.

The girls burst through the door and Jess screamed when she saw the scene before her.

Blood trickled from cuts of varying severity on Mira's body and blood pooled around her head.

Sherlock rushed to her side and felt her pulse. "She's still alive. Megan go call an ambulance."

At Sherlock's command Megan rushed out of the studio and towards the campus's only phone box.

Jess walked slowly over to Mira and Sherlock, wincing every time she heard glass crunch beneath her shoes. "What did this to her?" She asked.

Sherlock looked up from the magnifying glass she was using to examine Mira's multiple wounds. She stood and snapped the magnifying glass shut, slipping it into her pocket.

"That's what did this." Sherlock pointed to a large, badly damaged stage light lying pathetically on the ground.

Jess walked over to the light and examined it. "There's blood on this light." Jess cracked off a piece of the bloody glass and slipped it into her pocket.

Sherlock went to the backstage area and returned with a tape measure. She measured the distance between where Mira was hit and where the light had landed. "Impossible." She muttered.

"What's impossible?" Jess asked.

Sherlock kept looking at the numbers on the tape measure with a confused look on her face. Then she smiled. "Oh yes, this is wonderful!" Jess was completely confused by her companion's sudden mood shift.

"What's wonderful?" Jess inquired.

Sherlock jumped up and grabbed shook Jess's shoulders. "The light was just another diversion!" Sherlock's smile grew wider and wider as she spoke.

Jess pulled the bloody glass shard from her pocket and lifted it to Sherlock's face. "But the light, it has blood on it Sherlock." Sherlock took the glass and flung it over her shoulder. "Like I said, diversion!" Sherlock dipped one of her gloved fingers in the blood on the floor and then wiped it on Jess's sweater.

"See," she said. "easily done."

Jess was horrified.

Sherlock turned around and ran up a set of metal stairs before Jess could reprimand her. Jess pulled off her sweater and tied it around her waist, then she ran after Sherlock.

At the top of the stairs was a metal catwalk where the lights could be cleaned, inspected, and managed. At the end of the row of lights sat a mess of sparking cables where the light that hit Mira had once been. Sherlock was already over by the wires when Jess rejoined her.

"Well, do you see anything?" She asked Sherlock.

Sherlock examined the smooth, clean slices in the suspension wires. "This wasn't done with any old pocket knife or pair of scissors." Sherlock announced.

Jess shifted her feet and felt the ground shake beneath her. "Not very secure up here." She commented.

Sherlock looked up slowly and turned to Jess. "Say that again."

Jess was confused but she did as Sherlock asked. "I said that this catwalk isn't very secure."

Sherlock crouched down and pushed Jess's foot away then she grabbed the panel Jess was standing, on and pulled upwards with every ounce of her strength. Jess bent over and helped Sherlock pull. Together, they pried the panel upwards and it clattered across the catwalk.

Sherlock pulled a small flashlight out of her coat pocket and put it between her teeth, then she stuck both her hands into the secret compartment. "I knew it!" She exclaimed. Jess watched as Sherlock pulled a Tesco Supermarkets shopping bag out of the compartment.

Sherlock poured the contents of the bag onto the catwalk. Jess picked up each object and named it aloud. "Wire cutters, an empty bottle of fake blood, and... what's this Sherlock?" Jess held a crumpled sheet of paper in her hand. Sherlock grabbed it and opened it.

She scanned the paper then got up quickly. She grabbed Jess's arm. "We've got to get to the student computers, NOW."


	7. Chapter 7: Making Connections

CHAPTER 7

Making Connections

Sherlock and Jess entered the student computer lab and looked around. "There's got to be at least forty girls in here. How on Earth will we investigate an attempted murder with out alerting or alarming anyone?" Jess said.

For the first time Sherlock looked lost.

"I'll just tell them that there's a murderer on campus and that we need this room."

Jess was shocked by Sherlock's approach to matter. "You know what? Why don't I handle this, eh Sherlock?"

Jess pulled out a chair from one of the computer counters and stood on it. "Attention students!" Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked up at Jess. Eighty eyeballs stared at Jess and she began to sweat. "Um, never mind." Jess stepped off the chair.

Sherlock looked surprised. "Really? I actually thought you might've pulled that off." Jess ignored Sherlock. "I got nervous lying to all of those people. I'll just tell you what I came up with and you say it. Okay?"

Sherlock pulled her scarf out of her coat and secured it around her neck. "Okay."

Jess whispered into Sherlock's ear and Sherlock smiled then climbed up onto the chair. "Free exam answers are being handed out in the student council vice president's office!"

The girls looked skeptic and one of them called Sherlock out. "How do we know you're telling the truth?"

Sherlock shrugged. "You don't, but I'm also telling you that supplies are limited."

Suddenly every girl grabbed her things and rushed out of the lab.

"Ah, creating a demand. How devious of you." Jess said once the room had cleared. Sherlock jumped off the chair and went to a computer. "What exactly are you looking for?" Jess asked.

Sherlock scrolled through files and hard drives until she found a folder named 'News Show Scripts'.

"Gotcha." Muttered Sherlock. She clicked the file and when it loaded the screen was blank. "What?" Sherlock looked confused again but only for a moment because she had another idea. "Whoever deleted these scripts is our killer." She said.

Jess checked another computer and found the same results. "How do we find out who deleted them? There's no sign-in log we can look at."

Sherlock switched the web-cam on. "Maybe this," she tapped the web-cam with her finger. "caught a glimpse of them."

Once the web-cam had loaded up, Sherlock scrolled through past feeds. There were videos of girls chatting with family, friends, pets, and boyfriends but no videos of killers masking their crimes.

Megan opened the door to the computer lab and walked over to Jess. "I have so many questions for you that I don't have a long enough lifespan to ask them all." Megan said. Sherlock continued to search on the computer, but not before adding to the conversation. "Oh give it a shot. Jess has all the time in the world, don't you Jess?"

Jess sighed. "What is it Megan?"

Megan put out her hand and counted each question on her fingers. "Why did you and Sherlock rush off? Why is my office filled with girls wanting to know the answers to their exams? What are you two doing in here? Why is the catwalk in the news studio missing part of its flooring and why is it covered in random tools and objects?" Megan stopped speaking and looked at Jess expectantly.

Jess took a breath then spoke. "We rushed off because Sherlock figured something out. We needed the lab to ourselves so we told those girls that you were handing out exam answers in your office. We are in here because the killer was in here. The catwalk is missing a chunk of flooring because it was concealing a secret compartment and the random objects were all used to execute the crime."

Sherlock gave up on her search and turned to Megan. "Are there back-ups of the news scripts?" Megan shrugged and replied. "I don't have anything to do with the news. You'll have to talk to the producer, Eloise Hartly."

Sherlock turned the computer off and left to go find Eloise. Jess stayed behind with Megan. "Did Mira get medical help?" Jess asked. Megan spun her umbrella around while she answered Jess. "Yes, she's being checked out in the infirmary by the paramedics."

Sherlock walked to the student office building and found Eloise's office.

She opened the door and went inside.

Sherlock put on her fake smile and raised her voice an octave when she spoke. "Um, hi. I'm Sherlock and I'm doing a writing assignment on television scripts and I was wondering if I could take a look at some of your newer ones, preferably this week's." Sherlock smiled an innocent pleading smile.

Eloise looked up from her laptop and replied to Sherlock curtly. "We don't release scripts to the student public until four months after we've read them on the air, but you're welcome to go through our old stuff." She gestured to a filing cabinet in the corner of the office.

Sherlock looked at the filing cabinet then back at Eloise. "How can I get access to the newer scripts?" She asked.

Eloise thought about Sherlock's question for a moment before answering: "Tomorrow evening we're holding auditions to replace an injured news anchor. If you get the part you'll receive access to all of our scripts."

Megan sat alone in her office with a stack of paperwork taller than Jess Watson.

Incident reports, evacuation files, witness reports, you name it, Megan had to fill it out.

In the middle of filing for a grant to buy a new light for the news studio, Sherlock came into the the office. "What can I do for you Sherlock? I'm very busy." Megan asked.

Sherlock sat down. Out of the three girls, Sherlock was the only one who wasn't exhausted. "I need you to get me on the news team." She said.

Megan checked her calender and replied. "Auditions are tomorrow at six."

Sherlock looked slightly uncomfortable as she spoke. "You know I'm not good with that... stuff."

Megan was confused. "What stuff?"

"People." Sherlock hissed.

Megan burst out laughing. "You want my help because you're antisocial?" Megan laughed for a long time then picked up the phone and called Eloise, they spoke for almost ten minutes before Megan finally hung up. "Well?" Sherlock asked. Megan looked at her sister. "You're in."


	8. Chapter 8: The World's Only Consulting-

CHAPTER 8

The World's Only Consulting Reporter

Sherlock woke up at 6:00 AM to get herself ready for the news show. She attempted to wear a pencil skirt but traded it out for some black pants and a purple shirt.

When Sherlock arrived at the studio, Eloise rushed her to the anchor desk.

Sherlock sat in Mira's empty seat and looked at the camera. Above the camera was the teleprompter. Eloise pulled a lever and a bright light shined into Sherlock's eyes.

Sherlock squinted. "It's alright, you get used to it." Emma Brooks, Sherlock's co-anchor, said.

The teleprompter lit up and multiple lines of red and blue words popped up. Eloise called out to the anchors. "Sherlock you read for red, Emma you do blue."

"Welcome to Cobblestone Academey's Morning News, I'm Emma. Filling in for Mira today is Sherlock Holmes."

"I'm Sherlock and this is your news."

After the normal weather and sporting reports, it was Sherlock's turn to deliver Mira's new segment.

"And now for our next segment of the show, The Daily Dirt with Sherlock" Emma said in an introductory tone.

When Emma said the name of Mira's segment Sherlock smiled. "So the plot thickens." She said aloud. Emma looked at her worriedly. "What did you say?"

Sherlock got up from the anchor's desk and ran to the teleprompter.

"Hey!" Cried the teleprompter operator when Sherlock pushed her out of the way. Sherlock found the script and hit print. She ran passed a hyperventilating Eloise and grabbed the script from the printer on her way out the door.

Jess sat in a relaxing bath as she enjoyed her murder-free morning. She watched the mounds of bubbles drift lazily across the water. Jess began to slowly lean her head back when a sudden bang from outside the bathroom caused her to smack her head against the porcelain tub.

Sherlock banged on the bathroom door loudly and called to Jess. "I've discovered the motive! Hurry up in there!"

Jess exited the bathroom wrapped up in her robe. Sherlock was sitting with her legs crossed on the floor, surrounded by papers and highlighters.

"Is that the script?" Jess asked.

Sherlock gestured for Jess to sit next to her on the floor. "Yes it is."

Jess sat and looked at some of what Sherlock had highlighted. "You said you found the motive?"

Sherlock handed Jess a highlighter and replied. "Yes."

"Well?"

Sherlock handed, Jess the page containing Mira's segment. "Today Mira was going to release her new gossip segment. Which is why her attacker tried to strike last night."

Jess began highlighting any mentions of Mira or her segment in the script. "So we find everyone who could be hurt by this gossip and we question them?" Jess asked.

"Yes, that's exactly what we'll do."


	9. Chapter 9: Conference Room B

CHAPTER 9

Conference Room B

Megan's cellphone vibrated on her nightstand. She groaned and rolled over, trying to avoid the day's responsibilities. Her phone vibrated again, then again, then again. On the fifth vibration, Megan picked up her phone and read her messages.

Megan I need a favor

-SH

Megan I have a suspect list I need for you to gather

-SH

Megan

-SH

You're ignoring my messages aren't you

-SH

WAKE UP

-SH

Megan sighed and sat up in her bed. She looked around her empty dorm. Three years at this school and she's never had a roommate, or a friend. She opened up her message app and replied to her sister.

What do you mean suspects?

-M

While Megan waited for Sherlock's reply she headed down to the Diogenes Lounge.

The Diogenes Lounge was an incentive for members of the student council and other important students. A few girls sat in the lounge, in large leather armchairs.

Most of them were reading but a few were tapping away on iPads. Megan sat down by the fireplace and opened up one of her favorite novels, "The Great Gatsby". Megan enjoyed her book in silence for almost an hour before getting a reply from Sherlock.

Mira's new segment is a gossip report. Jess and I are going to interview everyone mentioned in the report.

-SH

Ok. Who are they?

-M

Jenny Foxxe, Harriet Colbie, Wanda Siter, and Joan Marlboro

-SH

I'll have them gather in conference room B

-M

Megan was able to pull a few strings and all four girls showed up in the corridor outside of conference room B.

Jess and Sherlock met each girl individually to figure out who would want to kill Mira.

Jess poked her head out of the conference room and looked at the nervous girls in the hall. "Wanda Siter, we'll see you now."

Wanda got up and sat opposite Sherlock at the table in the conference room. Jess stood behind Sherlock and took notes on a clipboard. She leaned over and whispered to Sherlock. "Please try to act like a normal human being Sherlock, these girls are freaked out." Sherlock waved Jess away and looked at Wanda intently. "Did you attack Mira?" She asked.

Wanda opened her mouth to speak but before any sound came out, Sherlock spoke: "Leave."

Wanda looked stunned. "Are you deaf? I said leave. Oh and call your boyfriend and apologize, he isn't cheating on you."

Wanda got up and scurried out of the room.

"You didn't even let her speak Sherlock!" cried Jess. Sherlock took the clipboard from Jess and crossed off Wanda's name. "Did you see the angle at which she folded her collar? It's quite obvious that the night of the attack she was arguing with her boyfriend." Jess snatched her clipboard back. "Right then. Who do you want next?"

Sherlock thought for a moment. "Get Harriet."

Jess went out into the hall and brought Harriet inside. Harriet put one foot in the room and Sherlock spoke. "Get out."

Harriet paused then turned around and left. Jess was furious. "Sherlock it's 9:30 a.m. and these girls got out of bed to come be interviewed by you and you haven't let a single one speak so far!"

"Did you see her left shoe, she obviously-"

"You know what," Jess interrupted. "I don't care how you figured it out. I'll get Jenny."

Jess went into the hall.

"I want to see Joan not Jenny!" Sherlock yelled.

"Too bad!" called Jess from the hall.

After only five minutes, Sherlock had dismissed both Jenny and Joan. Jess didn't know what to do. Sherlock sat in the conference room and called to Jess in the hallway. "Send the next one in!"

Jess swung the door open and stomped over to Sherlock. She slapped the clipboard onto the table. "There aren't anymore Sherlock. Not a single one." Sherlock got up and began pacing with her eyes shut. "No. This doesn't makes sense." Sherlock spun around and slammed her fists on the table. Her eyes blazed like blue fire. "I've missed something! I NEVER miss ANYTHING!" Jess backed up a little, surprised by Sherlock's outburst.

Sherlock stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

When Jess returned to 221B, Sherlock had changed back into her pajamas and robe. She was lying on the couch curled up in a ball. Jess tapped Sherlock on her side. "I'm leaving to get some breakfast then I'm off to class, alright?"

Sherlock didn't answer, instead she just curled up tighter. Once Jess left Sherlock jumped off the couch and went to her closet. She grabbed the nurse's scrubs she kept in case of emergency, and put them on.

Sherlock walked into the infirmary and looked for Mira. Once she found Mira's bed, she pulled the curtain shut. Mira's head was bandaged and her legs and arms were covered in band-aids and stitches. Sherlock grabbed the clipboard hanging from the foot of Mira's hospital bed.

She began to read it.

PATIENT INFORMATION

NAME: Mira Howard

Age: 15

Treatment Info: Currently unconscious, head staples, stitches on arms and legs, glass removed from wounds

Wound Description: Blunt force trauma on back of head appears to be caused by a long smooth instrument. Bruises on chest area from hitting the ground. Scrapes and scratches with minor to major bleeding. Prominent blood loss.

Sherlock took her phone out and photographed the medical information, then she squatted down and pulled a plastic bin out from under the hospital bed.

A label on the bin read "Patient's Belongings". A student-nurse opened the curtain and looked at Sherlock. "Nurse, Katie needs pain relievers." She said.

Sherlock stood up and brushed off her scrubs. "Of course." She said.

"Are the items in that bin what the patient had with her during the attack?" Sherlock asked, pointing at the bin. The nurse looked suspicious but she replied anyway. "Yes I believe so. Don't forget those pills."

When the nurse finished speaking, she left. Sherlock turned back to the bin and dug around it for awhile. She finally found what she was looking for, a yellow notebook.

She grabbed it and left the infirmary.

When Sherlock opened the door to 221B she called Jess's name but there was no response. Sherlock reached into her nightstand drawer and pulled out the crumpled up paper she found on the catwalk. She opened Mira's notebook and flipped through it until she found where the missing page went.

When Sherlock laid the paper where it used to go the most important piece of the puzzle was revealed.

It wasn't what Mira was going to say in her segment that caused a problem, it's what she decided not to say.


	10. Chapter 10: What Mira Wouldn't Say

CHAPTER 10

What Mira Wouldn't Say

Jess checked her school map. She turned it upside down and looked at it from three different angles but she still couldn't find her chemistry classroom.

A girl named Sarah Valworth, that Jess had seen around the school, walked by and Jess stopped her. "Can you tell me where Chemistry is?" She asked. Sarah looked Jess up and down then smiled. "I'm going in that direction, you can walk with me."

Jess smiled back at her. "Thank you!" She said gratefully .

Jess and Sarah parted ways in the hall and Jess was greeted with a surprise when she entered the chemistry lab.

Sherlock was seated at one of the counters looking at something through a microscope. Jess sat on the stool next to Sherlock and took out her chemistry notebook and a pen.

Sherlock put her hand out. "Jess pass me those tweezers." She said. Jess put the tweezers in Sherlock's palm. "Are you working on the case?" Jess asked.

Sherlock was poking at something on her microscope slide with the tweezers. "No this is for something I'm doing later."

"Oh."

After chemistry class, Sherlock and Jess walked together in the hall. Jess nudged Sherlock with her elbow. "Chemistry huh, more like che-Mystery! Amirite?" She said.

Sherlock rolled her eyes. "Jess please," she said. "what did we talk about with the jokes?"

Jess sighed. "Did you get anywhere with Mira?" She asked.

Sherlock stopped in a hall and opened up a broom closet. She pushed Jess into the closet and followed her in. "Sherlock wha-?" Jess didn't get to finish her sentence because Sherlock gagged her with a rag.

"MMMMMMM!" Jess cried.

Sherlock grabbed a broom and cracked it over her knee. "Sorry Jess. It's pertinent to the investigation that you remain in this little closet-thing." She said.

Jess pulled the gag out of her mouth and grabbed Sherlock. Sherlock looked surprised. "Oh Jess thank you for reminding me!" She whacked Jess's shoulder with the broomstick and Jess let go of her.

Before Jess even realized what was going on Sherlock had re-gagged her and ziptied her feet and hands together. Jess sat on the floor and glared up at Sherlock. Sherlock grabbed both ends of the broomstick and jammed the door shut on her way out. She called to Jess through the door. "Someone will come for you in a few hours, and maybe we can rendezvous later and do something like buy shoes, or whatever it is that girls our age are expected to do."

Sherlock cringed when she mentioned shoe shopping.

Sarah Valworth sat in her math class and listened to the teacher ramble on about pi. The teacher was explaining how to do that night's homework, when a freshman in a long black coat waltzed into the classroom.

The teacher turned towards the girl. "Can I help you?" He asked.

The girl ignored the teacher's question. She came up to Sarah's desk and leaned forward. "I'm on to you Sarah. Meet me in the boiler room at six."

Sarah whispered to the girl. "Who are you?"

The girl smiled. "Sherlock Holmes."

It was six o'clock and Sherlock stood in the boiler room waiting for Sarah.

The rumbling of the boiler and the steam it produced didn't phase her at all. She heard a squeak and then the slam of a heavy metal door. Sarah Valworth walked into the boiler room and stood in front of Sherlock. "Well," Sarah said. "I guess my theatrics didn't fool you like I thought they would."

Sherlock looked into Sarah's eyes. Even though Sarah was three years older, Sherlock was the same height as her.

"Ah yes, the diversions. The letters, and the spelling mistakes, and the light." Sherlock began to circle Sarah as she spoke. "But you got sloppy." She taunted.

Sarah looked smug. "Sloppy? How so?"

Sherlock began to talk excitedly. "Your first mistake was deleting the scripts. Their absence was the first red flag that something was up with the news show. Then the page you stole from Mira's notebook confirmed my suspicions."

Sarah's eyes grew wide and she started to sweat. "P-page?" She asked shakily.

Sherlock reached into her coat and pulled out the neatly folded paper and began to read:

"Kristen Coraline, Model Scholarship Candidate or Model Cheater? That's the title of a gossip story that Mira was going to read on her segment. Now I don't know her very well but I do know that she has a reputation for delivering every news story, no matter how bad. If Mira reported on everything, why would she cross this story out of her notebook?" Sherlock looked at Sarah expectantly.

"I don't know, why?" She asked.

Sherlock stood in front of Sarah and began talking again. "She scribbled this story out because it's not true. Someone wanted her to destroy Kristen's reputation. Anyone could have wanted to ruin Kristen's life, a jealous classmate, an angry friend. But then after considering those options I reread the would-be story and I noticed that the title specifically mentions Kristen's lead in the scholarship contest that the school holds every year. The only other person eligible to win the contest besides Kristen, is you, and now that Mira knew that you were playing dirty you had to protect your reputation." When Sherlock was done Sarah started laughing. "Fine Sherlock, you're right. I tried to kill Mira and ruin Kristen's reputation, but your little revelation isn't going to change anything." Sarah said.

"Are you sure about that?" Sherlock asked. Sarah began to look nervous and she turned and bolted for the door. She tripped and fell on her way to the door and when she turned to see what had tripped her an umbrella was lying on the ground.

"Well, well. Not only did I get the confession for the attempted murder of Mira Howard but I also get to tell Kristen that the scholarship is hers."

Megan stepped out from the shadows behind one of the giant boilers. Sarah stood quickly and began rambling about how nobody could stop her from getting what she wants, until Megan hit her over the back of the head with her umbrella.

Megan and Sherlock walked over to the unconscious Sarah and looked down at her. Megan poked her with the tip of her umbrella. "She's quite irritating isn't she?"


	11. Chapter 11: The Aftermath

CHAPTER 11

The Aftermath

Sherlock watched from her window as an unconscious Sarah was laid in the back of a police car.

Megan stood with the police and played back the audio that she had recorded of Sarah confessing to her crimes. At ten o'clock Sherlock got out of the shower and slipped into her pajamas. As she was putting her robe on, she remembered something important.

A barefoot Sherlock ran through the hall, down the stairs, across the courtyard, and into the classroom building. She raced down the hallway until she reached the broom closet.

Sherlock unjammed the door and swung it open. Jess was lying on her back staring up at the ceiling. The zipties and gag were all as Sherlock had left them. "I'm here to get you Jess." Sherlock said.

Jess kept staring upwards.

Sherlock took the rag out of Jess's mouth and undid the zipties. "I told you I'd come back." She said.

Jess sat up and rubbed her wrists. "Sherlock you said a few hours. Six hours is not a few hours!" Jess yelled.

"Shhhhhhh" Sherlock tried to hush Jess.

"Are you hushing ME!? I've been gagged and tied up in a dusty closet for six hours Sherlock! Do you know how many spiders I've seen in here Sherlock!? Eight! Eight spiders!" Jess continued to yell, not caring that she might alert security that they were in a restricted part of the school at night.

Sherlock rolled her eyes and stuffed the rag back into Jess's mouth. Jess bit down hard on the rag until she had calmed down.

She spit the rag out.

"Any new information on Mira's attacker?" Jess asked.

Sherlock helped Jess up. "The attacker is in custody." She said. Jess looked surprised and a little hurt. "Oh, why did I need to be locked up for all this time? You said it was pertinent to the investigation." Jess asked.

"It wasn't for the investigation." Sherlock said.

"Then what was it for?" Jess hissed.

"There's two explanations," Sherlock said. "do you want the nice one, the possibly offensive one, or both.?" Jess thought for a moment then replied. "Both."

"I locked you in there because I'm studying claustrophobia and I know you suffer from that. Now that I'm observing your condition, it appears that next time I should choose a smaller closet."

Jess waited for Sherlock to continue with the offensive explanation.

Sherlock continued, "Also I felt smothered by the recent growth in human contact I've had in the past few days and I needed some time alone."

Jess wasn't offended at all and she tried not to laugh. "Sherlock you felt smothered by me? You kidnapped me, twice! All you had to do was say that you wanted to finish the case alone. I would kill to watch some telly right now." She said.

"Not just by you, in these past few days I've spoken to Megan more than I have in the three weeks before you arrived." Sherlock said. Jess laughed at Sherlock's confession.

They started to walk down the hall and back towards 221B.

"Don't forget that you're buying me a pair of shoes."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You remember everything Sherlock."

"Don't be ridiculous, nobody is that clever."


End file.
